20 years. That’s how long the George Lindsey UNA Film Festival has been bringing independent film from across the globe to the Shoals, Alabama. It all began when some UNA folks and George Lindsey had a shared idea. According to a tribute read by Congressman Bud Cramer in the Alabama House of Representatives, April 26, 2001, “Along with Bobbie Hurt, Bill Jarnigan, Robert Potts, and Lisa Darnell of UNA, Lindsey had a vision for a festival that would provide aspiring artists, especially those from the state of Alabama, the opportunity to showcase their art while learning from professionals how to strengthen their work.” Over the years, those aspiring artists have come not just from Alabama, but from as far away as Poland and the UK. And those professionals have included and Oscar winning actor Ernest Borgnine, renowned film critic and Florence native Jonathan Rosenbaum, makeup-effects artist Robert Hall, music supervisors David and Juliette Jordan, and Thomas Golubic, screenwriter and producer Bob Gale, and many, many more from the film industry who have traveled to Florence, Alabama to share their craft with student and professional independent filmmakers. They have come happily each year because they, like those folks who conceived this festival, believed in nurturing the art that is film.

For this year’s 20th Anniversary, we’ll be doing a lot of reminiscing with old friends, many who will be on hand at the Awards Show to share some of their fondest memories of the festival and George Lindsey. But what is going on at the festival before our closing night festivities may be the biggest nod to George and Bobbie and Bill and Robert and Lisa and their vision for this festival. First, we will be screening EVERY film submission made in Alabama, even those that did not place as finalists in this year’s very stiff festival competition. We have also managed to get RECORD number of filmmakers to commit to coming to Florence to represent their films. 15 of the 21 finalists will be at the festival, including youth filmmakers from Australia and the UK, student filmmakers from Germany and Canada, and the rest from across the United States. And MOST of the 36 Alabama films will have their filmmakers in the audience to represent their work. All in all, we are expecting over 40 filmmakers to be in attendance for this 20th birthday of the Lindsey Festival.​As always, the Lindsey Festival is free and open to the public. Go on over to the schedule page and make your plans to help us celebrate. We look forward to seeing you there!